Mother reunited with son 61 years later.
Secrecy concealing the social stigma of a 15-year-old unwed girl 61 years ago gave way to joyful tears Saturday as the mother saw her son for the first time ever.
Mildred Faulkner, now 76, has accepted circumstances after being reunited with John McIntyre, a 61-year-old living in the New Mexico Highlands of Las Vegas, N.M. He is a chemistry professor who grew up in Sherman, Texas, unaware his birth mother was "just across the river." The shame she carried at the time wasn't her fault. She was sexually assaulted at 14 by a sailor and gave birth to her son at a Pilot Point, Texas, home.
As one of six children who lost their father two years earlier there was no logical way for her to keep the baby. Besides, this was a time when the social stigma in the tiny Love County community where the family lived would have been devastating.
"I thank God," Mrs. Faulkner said quietly as she was surrounded by her immediate family for a private gathering -- an event everyone looked forward to since learning there was another family member. Three other sons, four daughters and grandchildren from Ardmore, Lone Grove and Mannsville attended, clustering closely to share stories and get acquainted with John and his wife Susan.
"Our two sons had only one second cousin until we found out. Now they have a big family," Susan laughed as she looked around the reserved banquet room at Ryan's. The sons are teachers in Japan and Iowa.
Greeted outdoors by sisters and brothers, John was "looking forward" to the moment that evolved from a search started by Susan almost six years ago. He had known since age 10 he was adopted but never attempted to find out about his mother.
"A whole series of things had to fall into place for this to happen," he said, giving his wife credit for the genealogical research that came down to her cousin, Steve Richardson, and Mrs. Faulkner's brother, Doug Romines -- the final link in that series of things. Another key link came in July 1997 when McIntyre was able to open the adoption record.
That magic moment came during a family reunion attended by Romines and Richardson. A letter was passed disclosing the secret kept hidden from Mrs. Faulkner's family (and everyone else) more than 60 years. Romines' two brothers and two other sisters, also carried the secret, never revealing it to anyone.
"They didn't feel it was their place," said Ann Copeland, one of Mrs. Faulkner's daughters. "Not even our father who died several years ago knew."
Oddly enough, culmination of the research created "a lot of apprehension." McIntyre had his answer. Now he had to decide "what and how" to use it.
H.L. Faulkner, an Ardmore brother, said no one in the family had any misgivings. He recalled the family inadvertently found out about a brother when Mrs. Faulkner was in the hospital some months ago and began "carrying on" about a son. They attributed it to side effects of medication until they learned about John.
Ray Faulkner of Mannsville and sisters Janice Copeland and Mary Glover of Ardmore and Jane Lawrence of Lone Grove are part of McIntyre's new-found family. Another brother, James, is deceased.
Susan, a retired artist and El Paso native who met McIntyre at Austin College in Sherman, did more than spearhead the research. Circumstances made her the one to decide he phone call would be made linking McIntyre with his family.
"He was persistent," she recalled about Richardson wanting to contact the Faulkner family. During the first week of August, McIntyre was attending a Scouting event at Philmont and couldn't be contacted. Agonizing about the situation, she said yes.
"We decided to leave it up to the (Faulkner) family to respond," she said.
Perhaps one of the happiest moments at Saturday's reunion came when McIntyre produced a photo album containing pictures from his infant years. It was another part of the information exchange taking place during the holiday weekend visit.
Now the Faulkner's can set a couple more plates for Thanksgiving dinner.
Mildred went home on June 29, 2004.
